Quartet of foreign ministers meet in Washington in sign of Trump’s focus on China Reuters

David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis (JO:) and Alasdair Pal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States, Australia, India and Japan recommitted to cooperation on Tuesday, following the first meeting of China-focused “Quad” top diplomats since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

In a joint statement after talks in Washington, hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day on the job, the four nations said officials would meet regularly to prepare for an upcoming leaders’ summit in India, expected this year.

The four countries share concerns about China’s growing power, and analysts say the meeting is designed to signal that confronting Beijing is a top priority for Trump, who began his second term on Monday.

Rubio said earlier that during the meeting he would emphasize the importance of working with allies “on things that matter to America and Americans.”

Before the meeting at the State Department, he posed with Australian Penny Wong, Indian Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japanese Takeshi Iwaya in front of the flags of their countries, but did not answer questions from reporters.

“It is significant that the Quad (a meeting of foreign ministers) took place hours after the inauguration of the Trump administration,” Jaishankar said at X after the meeting.

“This emphasizes the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states.”

The four nations reiterated their “shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific where the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity are upheld and defended,” the joint statement said.

“We also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” it said, apparently referring to China’s threat to act on its claim to sovereignty over democratically-ruled Taiwan.

Rubio also met separately with the three foreign ministers on Tuesday.

Trump officials were also working to schedule a second gathering of foreign ministers at the White House, said a person involved in planning the meetings.

The Quad met many times during former President Joe Biden’s administration, focusing on Beijing’s military and economic activities in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the South China Sea where US allies have countered Beijing’s territorial claims.

The group also pledged to enhance cooperation in cyber security to protect supply chains and critical infrastructure, including undersea cables.

A key Australian goal was to secure assurances from Washington on the massive AUKUS defense project, designed to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles, which Trump has not publicly commented on.

Australian Foreign Minister Wong said at a news conference in Washington that she had a “very positive discussion” with Rubio about AUKUS.

China has condemned the Quad as a Cold War construct and says the AUKUS alliance would intensify the regional arms race.

Wong, who met her Indian and Japanese counterparts in Washington over the weekend, said she also spoke with Rubio about critical minerals – an industry where the US and China are battling to control the supply chain.

“There is a great deal of optimism and confidence about the opportunities ahead and I am really privileged to have had this level of engagement so early in the new administration,” she said.